Looking after yourself in times of transition
Transitions happen all the time in life and most of them are anticipated and seamless, such as day turning into night.
However, there are some transitions that can impact a big part of our lives and provoke anxiety within us. This could be starting a new school, new job, moving, even having a fast approaching ‘0’ birthday.
With all transitions there is a beginning and an end, making sure you give attention to both, giving space to feel happy, sad, scared, or frustrated is perfectly natural and it is important to allow yourself permission to feel what you need to.
Transitions mean leaving something behind. This can be difficult for many people, and it is important to time to think about what is being given up as you go into the new stage of life.
Change is an individual process and will be dealt with in different ways for everyone and there are individual ways of coping.
For some people they give time and space, having a healthy strategy whereas for others it can result in getting stuck or coming out in other ways with unprocessed feelings.
Here are some ideas of what might help you during the transition time:-
What can you find out about the change ?
If you can turn the unknown into the known, it will help you to navigate and more successfully manage it.
Looking after yourself
Not neglecting yourself and your needs is important. Sometimes during a time of transition, it can lead to extra tasks, and it might mean things such as exercise, eating well and other self-care activities slip.
Easy does it
Where possible trying not to change too much in one go can be helpful, doing too much can lead to overwhelm.
No rush
Being patient with yourself and realising it might take some time to adapt is important.
Share your feelings if you can
There is no need to go through transitions on your own. Finding someone you trust with whom you can share your feelings, can alleviate any feelings of being alone.